ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a sociological perspective on the global construction of national reputation. It argues that since the mid to late nineteenth century, new kinds of national reputation have emerged, produced by universalized third parties (international organizations, political journalists, social scientists, etc.) that specialize in the public comparison of performances of nation-states and other actors while addressing global media audiences. The result are three distinct new types of national prestige: (1) prestige of national development (modernity prestige); (2) prestige of political (state) performance; and (3) prestige of field-specific cultural performance (in the arts, in science, in sports, etc.).
